Tag: cotton

The gringa considers nudity to be part of the climate change solution. It could solve lots of problems:

Conserve water.

Reduce emissions with less marketable goods requiring shipping.

Reduce energy usage to cool homes in warm climates.

However, some innovators in the fashion industry may have come up with a cool, pardon the pun, solution that will allow everyone to keep themselves covered and still be comfortable despite the heat.

With the invention of plastic based textiles, cooling is all part of the design of a new, innovative fabric that engineers have developed at Stanford University. Combining the disciplines of chemistry, nanotechnology and photonics with an old-fashioned cotton fabric, sweat and body heat pass right through.

Believe it or not, current “breathable” fabrics are simply not breathable at all. People get hot wearing clothes because invisible waves of infrared radiation produced by our bodies are trapped under the clothes we wear. In research studies comparing standard cotton with the new fabric, scientists discovered that good, ol’ “breathable” cotton raised the temperature of skin surface by nearly 4 degrees Fahrenheit (or 2 degrees Celsius). For the gringa, that would make all the difference in the world. I could keep my A/C off and my family clothed in cooling fabrics.

The gringa only sees one problem, the plastic connection. Plastic is, of course, a petroleum based product. Isn’t dependence on petroleum the bane of human existence? Isn’t it at the heart of climate change? Is it not the object of war for profit? So has the science community really come up with a practical solution to help contribute one tiny bit to the climate change solution or has it simply opened a Pandora’s Box for the future of petroleum wars? Will nations continue to slaughter one another in order to control oil fields that will be necessary to keep people clothed in fabrics that will help them survive the catastrophic heatwaves of the future?

In the first of the three posts regarding the extra-terrestrial connection with ancient Egypt, the gringa felt pretty confident that the singular event of one particular pharaoh presenting with a suspiciously bulbous head and large limbed body could be attributed to a congenital abnormality rather than extra-terrestrial hybridization. However, in Peru, there is more than one elongated skull to consider. And the multiple elongated skulls in Peru are not accompanied with the usual gigantism to consider the condition to be a classic and common birth defect. So, then, were there big headed aliens living in South America? Is that why the gringa’s caveman has such a big head?

South of Lima, in the same vicinity the Nazca lines can be found, is the Paracas Peninsula, home to the ancient Paracas civilization. Existing from 800-100BC, the Paracas were the precursors to the Nazca civilization. Eking out a life in the coastal desert of southern Peru, the Paracas became adepts at irrigation in order to manage their cotton crops.

As cotton producers, it is only natural that the culture would be textile driven. They were known to be master weavers who created complex and intricate textile patterns. Elaborately patterned clothing was how they denoted status and rank. This focus on clothing for the purpose of social identity may have been the result of being a culture with no written language.

Paracas history is defined by two eras: Cavernas (500-300BC) and Necropolis (300-100BC). The earlier period is noted as the time the culture wrapped their dead in simple fabrics then entombed them in underground caverns with pottery brightly decorated with animal motifs. The later Necropolis period shifted to more elaborate mass burials within prepared chambers featuring horizontal shelving carved into cavern walls. Mummies wore more decorative textiles and were placed in a fetal position. They would be buried with elaborate jewelry, sacred objects and staple foods such as maize. Many of these mummies presented with elongated skulls.

Why did Paracas people have big heads? Were they aliens? Evidence indicates that they were wholly human and had purposely manipulated their skulls into these extraordinary conditions. The elongated skull mummies were usually found to be entombed with more valuable textiles and jewelry. Skull elongation could very well have been a fashion statement of the rich and famous. Perhaps my big-headed caveman is the descendant of Paracas nobility. That’s all the gringa needs; a caveman who thinks he’s the king.

How the heck could a primitive culture perform “cosmetic surgery” and change the shape of skulls? Well, the gringa discovers the Paracas were not as primitive as one might think. They were, perhaps, the originators of “trepanning”. That’s the old fashioned method of brain surgery where a doctor drills a hole in your skull to treat your psychiatric disorder by letting the evil spirits out or to relieve you of chronic headaches. These holes would then be patched with gold plates. Sweet. So, it may very well have been within their medical skill to reshape a human skull. After all, over three hundred of these skulls were found in 1928 in an archaeological funerary dig in Paracas by Peruvian archaeologist Julio Tello.

Most historians have explained that the procedure to deform a skull in this fashion would begin in infancy. By cradle boarding and binding of the head, the skull would gradually be trained to an elongated shape. However, recent findings using modern methods and technology has revealed there may be more to the Paracas story than simply squeezing baby heads.

Recently it was widely reported that an assistant director for a Peruvian museum announced that DNA analysis of a Paracas skull revealed that the DNA is a mutation unknown to “any human, primate, or animal known” to our world. The inference being that perhaps there were other-worldly origins to the elongated Paracas skulls. So who is this Brien Foerster and what kind of place is this Paracas History Museum he works for?

The museum is actually not a museum at all. It is really just a private collection owned by a fellow named Juan Navarro. First of all, any search for a website is fruitless. I mean, really, what legitimate business doesn’t have a website or even a Facebook page? And, although a Facebook page listing pops up, um, there is nothing there!

But, aha! Brien Foerster has a Facebook page. His page reveals a passion for the paranormal and extra-terrestrial. Although the gringa does not doubt his sincerity and commitment to marching to the beat of his own drum, I do question his methods. True science follows a method that is inscrutable and allows its findings to be questioned and the reporters of data to have their credibility tested. Although he claims to have DNA evidence to support his extra-terrestrial Paracas theory, he has not published the source of such evidence in order for his claim to be verified. Although Mr. Foerster may use the title of “scientist”, the gringa believes he is misspelling the title. It should go something like this… Mr. Brien Foerster, pseudo-scientist.

The gringa’s only other option to determine the legitimacy of this museum, short of visiting it in person, is to look at reviews from visitors. One fella stopped by twice in the same day, during business hours, but it was closed. He tried again the next day and got the same results. However, by camping out on the front steps he did make contact with a neighbor who let him into the building and he viewed the skulls. Not the kind of security I would expect if your museum housed the only biological specimen that proved extra-terrestrial life on planet Earth.

Another museum goer informs the public that the museum’s entire collection can be viewed in about ten minutes. Although another review claims this “not-a-museum” museum can actually be toured in 5 minutes. A couple of reviews find the space alien connection “amusing”. And, if you give ol’ Juan (the museum’s owner who doubles as the guide) a sizable tip, he will let you see a secret skull that looks “vaguely human”. And for an extra five bucks you can take a photo of the exhibits. Mm hmm. I understand now why some reviews state “rip-off alert” in their descriptions of the place.

So, the best the gringa can determine as far as “facts” go is that:

A personal collection of old Paracas trinkets are exhibited in a tiny storefront and marketed as a “museum” by the owner/tour guide who has no background in history or archaeology.

The “museum’s” assistant director is reported to have a Bachelor of Science degree from a university in Canada but his personal Facebook page states that he only studied biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics at the University of Victoria, no degree indicated. So, nothing qualifies him as a geneticist, archaeologist or historian other than a personal obsession turned hobby turned business venture. You see, Mr. Foerster owns a tour guide company whose bread and butter is made from promoting the extra-terrestrial/Paracas skulls exhibited at the “Paracas History Museum” owned by his friend, good ol’ Juan.

When attempts by experts to validate the DNA claims have been made, Mr. Foerster has refused to reveal the details of the DNA research claiming that the analyst wishes to remain anonymous.

I see. It seems the Paracas elongated skull story of alien connections has the smell of P.T. Barnum all over it. So, did the Paracas elite have extraordinarily long, bulbous skulls? Yes. Were they extra-terrestrials? No, just very vain people. It seems there is nothing new under the sun.

Food security in the world is critical to the security of the world in general. When populations become vulnerable due to famine and food shortages, terrible things can happen. Things like wars, massive migrations, malnutrition related disease epidemics, etc. With climate change posing a real threat to the future of food security worldwide, what the heck is being done about this problem?

The international community has come together to go “glam”. No, there is nothing glamorous about hunger. Rather, a group of government leaders, as well as NGO leaders, have formed and call themselves the Group on Earth Observation’s Global Agricultural Monitoring, or, to avoid saying that mouthful, GEOGLAM. They plan to take full advantage of Earth images provided by NASA’s satellites, along with data provided by the space agencies of other nations, to monitor weather and how it will affect the security of crops.

Satellites are not the only hi-tech hardware being put to use. While out in the field, GEOGLAM workers collect data on smartphones and relay it via the internet to GEOGLAM partners. This makes data collection much more efficient and stream lined. No more need to do all that pesky paperwork. The gringa likes that. The gringa likes even better the name for this mobile system of data collection, “MAGIS”. The gringa looks at her smartphone, smiles, and says, “It’s MAGIS!”

Rice is first on the list of crops GEOGLAM monitors. It is the staple grain for not only the largest portion of Earth’s population, but also it’s most vulnerable populations. And it is no easy grain to cultivate. Flood or drought could cause a worldwide starvation catastrophe. Other key crops being monitored are wheat, corn (maize), cotton and sugarcane.

Orbiting satellites provide thermal images of crops that enable GEOGLAM agricultural experts to determine if crop stress is occurring. These hi-tech images can relay such details as moisture and temperature levels of the surface of the land the crop is planted in. This can help create models to protect the viability of critical crops.

Images also provide data that help scientists predict weather patterns. This enables measures to be taken to protect crops in the event of the approach of severe weather. Although it is fine to love your local weatherman who reminds you to take an umbrella with you to work, GEOGLAM’s weathermen are the weathermen that are helping to save the world. The gringa holds them high upon the meteorological pedestal.

GEOGLAM’s eyes in the skies have begun their rice monitoring projects in the nations of Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Java. In the U.S., Arkansas, and agricultural areas such as Sacramento Valley in California, are also being watched because their water resources are rapidly being depleted. Data processed by GEOGLAM is used to create growing season plans as well as help farmers in these areas manage their local resources, primarily the precious resource of water that is used to irrigate the crops.

A visit to GEOGLAM’s website puts a smile on the gringa’s face. There’s nothing the gringa likes more than solutions. The gringa’s a fixer, a problem-solver, a get ‘er done kind of gal. It’s okay to complain but then you’ve got to get off your bum and FIX IT!

GEOGLAM officially launched in Paris, 2011, with the participation of 20 Agricultural Ministers from the world community. This group is setting out to monitor regions that “… are responsible for over 80% of global crop production…”. As data is gathered regarding these areas, GEOGLAM uses proven scientific methods to analyze weather and other evidence to create consensus based models that work toward the most favorable outcome of crop production and yield.

Although many countries have their own agricultural monitoring systems, GEOGLAM aims to lead the way into the global era. This is the future. Nations no longer live as islands but, rather, as part of a world community. Data is shared. Technologies are shared. Standardized methods are being implemented. It is the recognition that one nation’s food security is the concern of every other nation. The gringa loves this philosophy.

Never before has the world needed scientists and agricultural experts like it does today. These are the fields philanthropic, young students should be encouraged to pursue. If your child wants to change the world, encourage them to be a farmer or meteorologist!